RECAP: Panthers stay hot on the power play in win over Canucks

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers are starting to find their rhythm.
Winning four of their last six games, the Panthers scored a pair of goals on the power play and got some key saves during a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks at FLA Live Arena on Saturday.
Improving to 20-20-4, Florida sits just five points out of a playoff spot.
"I'm feeling like we're starting to get some confidence in our game and in the ability to make plays," Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. "That's always a good sign."

Taking advantage of a turnover in the offensive zone, Jack Studnicka floated a long shot toward the cage that snuck past Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Canucks up 1-0 at 1:35 of the first period.
Getting that goal back for Florida, Ryan Lomberg deposited a loose puck into the net after Gustav Forsling's point shot hit off a screening Givani Smith in front of Vancouver's cage to make it 1-1 at 8:58.
"Just hard work," Lomberg said of Smith, who was acquired in a trade with the Red Wings last month. "He's predictable, gets pucks in deep. He wins his battles and he's a good net-front."
After Tyler Myers snapped a point shot past Bobrovsky from below the blue line just 39 seconds into the second period to put the Canucks up 2-1, Eric Staal got the game back to even quickly when he deftly re-directed a shot from Josh Mahura past Spencer Martin to make it 2-2 at 1:46.
From there, the power play took center stage.
After Ekblad teed up a pass from Brandon Montour and blasted home a blistering one-timer on the power play to make it 3-2 at 3:06, Aleksander Barkov followed suit on the man advantage when he potted a slick no-look backhand dish from Sam Reinhart to extend the lead to 4-2 at 9:51.
Since Christmas, the Panthers own a 34.5% success rate on the power play.

"It's been good for a long time, but now it's fast," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of the power play. "Winning faceoffs, so we're not breaking the puck out nearly as much, and then moving pucks so they keep control of it. That's all."
Cutting into the deficit for the Canucks, Elias Pettersson threaded a long shot past Bobrovsky, who was screen by Bo Horvat, on the power play to make it 4-3 at 10:02 of the third period.
Finishing with 35 saves, Bobrovsky stopped 14 of 15 shots in the third period to lock in the win.
"Huge saves," Ekblad said. "We follow Bob every night out of the tunnel. The way he prepares is second to none. He's a great role model for this team and he plays big every night."

CATS QUOTES

"As a group, we've been playing fairly well all year. A lot of time they haven't gone our way, but now it's time to go. We've got to get on the gas. It doesn't matter. We've just got to start getting points here." -- Ryan Lomberg on the road ahead
"He had his reading glasses on tonight. He was really good in tight." --Paul Maurice on Sergei Bobrovsky's performance
"It was huge. It came up big. Opportunities presented themselves, and we were able to bury them." -- Aaron Ekblad on the power play

CATS NOTES

• Anton Lundell skated in his 100th career NHL game.
  - Matthew Tkachuk extended his point streak to six games.
  - Aaron Ekblad recorded his 48th career multi-point game.
  - Sam Reinhart has tallied a point in nine straight games against Vancouver.
  - Sam Bennett fired off a team-high six shots on goal.
  - Florida led 13-10 in high-danger shot attempts, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Panthers (20-20-4) will kick off their three-game road trip with a massively important divisonal matchup against the Buffalo Sabres (20-18-2) at KeyBank Center at 1 p.m. ET on Monday.